Windmill gearing and oiling system



Patented cs. 14, 1926.

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CLARENCE G. HENNEY, OF FAIRBURY, NEBRAEKA; CHARLOTTE M. I'IEHNEY, EXECU- TBIX OF SAID CLARENCE Gr. IIENNEY, DECEASED, ASSTGNOE TO FAIRBURY WIND- MILL COMPANY, OF FAIRBUBY, NEBRASKA, A GOBPORATION 01E NEBRASKA.

WINDIVEILL GEARING AND OILING- SYSTEM.

Application filed June 9, 1924. Serial No. 118,895.

My invention relates to a combined gearing and lubricating system which is designed primarily for use on windmills, and wherein the gearing is employed to circulate the lubricating medium in a manner not heretofore employed in connection with this type of gearing. I

Originally windmills were designed to be oiled or greased at irregular intervals, but when it was realized that the average windmill wheel makes from two to five times as many revolutions per week as the wheel of an average automobile makes, adequate lubrication assumed a new importance and stimulated invention in automatic oiling systems for windmills. One of the objects of my invention is the provision of an oiling system in which the gears are immersed'in oil.

IVindmills of numerous types are provided with pitmans and guide shoes for converting the movements of the shaft into reciprocatory movements which could be utilized for pumping water. This however necessitates bearings which are outside the lubricant container and which for this reason are insulticiently or not at all lubricated. Another ob,- jcct of my invention is the provision of a force feed lubricating system whereby the lubricant is fed to all of the bearings while the windmill is in operation. In accomplishing this object I utilize the superior advantages of helical gearing as applied to the driving parts of a windmill.

One of the most common troubles in connection with the lubrication of windmills is due to the fact that oil tends to creep out through the bearings. One of the objects of my inv ition is the provision of a novel device for preventing the oil from reaching the opening through which the shaft enters the lubricant reservoir.

Having in view these objects and others which will be mentioned in the following description, I will now refer to the drawings, in which I Figure 1 is a view in perspective of my gearing and oiling system, a portion of the hood being broken away to show the interior construction.

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of one channelsand grooves for conveying the lubricant. I I I I I I Figure 3 is a side viewlof a portion of the main shaft of the windmill, showing also a portion of the casing in section, and showing particularly the device for preventing the oil from reaching the outer side of the casing.

The casing 10 carries the working parts of the windmill and serves as a container of the lubricant in which the working parts are immersed. Itsupper surface is open to give access to the gearsas when applying the lubricant or vhen renewing worn bearings. Protrudlng from one of its sides adacent the upper edge 18 a tubular member 10 for receiving the bearing of the wheel or I drive shaft, and within the casing 10 there is a vertically disposed tubular member 10 for receiving the pump rod and for guiding its movements. The upper surface oft-he tubular member 10 is considerably above the level of-the oil. 'The parts 10, 10 and 10 are formed in one piece, preferably bycasting, thus having no seams or joints through which the oil could work. I I

The wheel or drive shaft 11 enters the easing 10 through the portion 10. This shaft is journalled in the bearing 12 whichis positioned in the tubular member 10 Inside the casing the shaft carries two helical pinions 13 which are pitched in opposite directions. Meshing with the pinions 13am two helical gears 14: which are keyed or otherwise secured to a stub shaft, the gears '14: and their stub shaft being entirely inside the casinglt). Each gear 14 carries on its outer side an eccentrically mounted pitman 15, the

pitmans 15 being pivoted at their upper exu tremities to the horizontal bar 16 which in turn carries the pump rod 17. The guide shoes 18 have only a linear vertical move ment, belng confined in their movement in the channeled guldeways l9. I

Helical gears and pinlons have the advantage over spur gearing in the greatly in-' creased meshing surface which thereby diminishesthe danger of stripping the gears. I have arranged the gears and pinions on opposite sides of the pump rod and approx imately equidistant therefrom with the result that there is little or no torsion, the

of the guide shoes, showing particularly theload on one gear'being positively equalized with the load on the other. Torsional strains are still further eliminated by arranging the two gears with their teeth pitched in opposite directions.

The lubricant is retained in the bottom portion of the casing 10, the lower portions of the gears 14 being always immersed in oil. As the gears turn, the spaces between the gear teeth serve as pockets for carrying the oil over the gears to the point where the gears and the pinions mesh. This meshing of the gears and pinions forces the oil out of the pockets with considerable force and in a horizontal direction parallel to the gear By arranging the gears and pinions with their teeth pitched as indicated in the drawing, the oil is forced outwardly from the gears so that during the operation of the'windmill the meshing of the gears and pinions forces small streams of oil against both of the guide shoes 18, the number of these streams increasing or decreasing with the speed of rotation of the shaft 10.

As before stated, the guide shoes 18 travel in the channeled guideways 19'. Referring now to Figure 2, numeral 18 designates a guide shoe whichis provided at its upper end with an aperture 20 wherebythe guide shoe may be pivotally secured to the rod 16. Other apertures 21 are formed in the guide shoe and in addition saw cuts or grooves 22 are formed in the opposite edges of the guide shoe. The apertures 21 and grooves 22 eX- tend through the guide shoe. In practice I prefer to form the apertures 21 and the grooves 22 with a slight downward slope toward the guideways 19.

It will readily be seen that the oil which is forced in streams against the guide shoes is largely caught in the apertures 21 and the grooves 22 and that the oil is thus con veyed to the back and lateral walls of the channeled guideways 19. The guide shoes being constructed of hard maple, quickly absorb a considerable quantity of oil and this oil with the oil that is being constantly fed in streams from the gears keeps the guideways efiectively lubricated. During" the reciprocation of the guide shoes however, the upper apertures and grooves pick up oil' from the film in the guideway and carry it' to higher levels, so that within a few seconds after the operationhas been started a film of oil will be moving over the upper edge of the guide shoe and over all parts of the rod 16, thus lubricating all bearings connected with the rod 16.

The wheel or drive shaft of a windmill is necessarily horizontal and it follows that its bearing is thus also horizontal. lVhen an oil bath lubricatingsystem is employed, the oil persists in creeping along on the wheel shaft and out of the casing; Not only is the oil thus wasted but it accumulates on the outer side of the casing wherezontally disposed tubular projection 10 of I the casing 10. The bearing '12 is spaced from the end wall of the part 10*, and the washer 23 is secured to the shaft 11 in this space. The washer is driven on the shaft and is thus in effect integral with the shaft so that no oil can creep through the space 7 between the washer and the shaft. It is i .1 that the washer fit so tightly onthe ft that no such space be left in the con tion and it essential also that the other have no contact with anything eX-.

cept the shaft. When the shaft is not rotating the oil reaches the inner surface of the washer and is drawn down to the lower edge but it is prevented by gravity from moving over the edge and upward on the outer surface of the washer. When the windmill is not running the movement of the oil is due only to its viscosity and is consequently slow so that at such times little or no oil gathers en the washer and the little that does: reach the. washer soon drops off the lower edge. d hen the windmill is running the move ment of. the oil is more rapid but at such times it is thrown offfrom'the'washer in tangential directions after which it is carried back into the main oil reservoir in the bot tom portion of the casing 10. I have found that with the washer as above described the oil cannot reach the outer surf-ace of the casing whereas packings', gaskets and the like merely aggravate the trouble.

The casing is preferably in the form of a single casting, being thus seamless and without joints through which the oil would leak The casting is formed with an open top so that access to the gearing and oil reservoir may be had. A hood or helmet preferably of sheet steel or the like, covers the open top of thecasing 10 and encases the pitmans, guice shoes and other working parts. The helmet removable so as to give ready access to the interior of the casing 10. Windmills are always located in ex posed positions where dust and grit are often in the air. WV ere the dust and grit permitted to enter the casing, the gears and bearings would soon be cut out and the chiciency of the windmill would be materially reduced because of the excessive friction resulting from the presence of the grit. These conditions would also cause the rapid deterioration of the oil. The helmet when in position, protects the working parts of the windmill by keeping out rain water, sand, or thing else' whichmight interfere with the operation of the windmill.

ll; will be seen from the foregoing description that the lubrication is positive, thor- ()l gh, and effective. A supply of oil of the proper grade requires no further attention for a year. When it is desired to renew the oil it is only necessary to drain the old oil out through a drain plug in the bottom of the casing and to introduce a supply of new oil through the top opening. It will also be seen that I have efi-ectively overcome the difficulties due to the tendency of the oil to leak out of the casing.

Having thus described by invention in terms which will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a windmill, a pinion secured to the wheel shaft of the windmill, a gear meshing with said pinion, a pitman secured in eccentric relation at the side of said gear, a. guide shoe pivotally secured to said pitman, means for confining the movements of said guide shoe to reciprocatory movements in the direction of the length of the guide shoe, and a reservoir for holding oil in contact with the lower portion of the said gear whereby oil is carried upwardly in the pockets between the gear teeth, the teeth of the gear and pinion being so formed that in meshing they force the oil out of the pockets between the gear teeth and toward and into contact with the said guide shoe.

2. In a windmill, a pinion secured to the drive shaft of the windmill, a gear meshing with said pinion, a pitman secured in eccentric relation at the side of said gear, a guide shoe pivotally secured to said pitman, a channeled member for guiding the move ments of said guide shoe, and means for holding oil in contact with the lower portion of said gear whereby the oil is carried upwardly in the pockets between the gear teeth, the teeth of the gear and pinion being so formed that in meshing they force the oil out of the pockets between the gear teeth and toward and against the surface of the guide shoe, said guide shoe being provided with apertures extending therethorugh and so positioned as to receive the oil which is thrown by the meshing gear and pinion, the

arrangement being such that the oil passing through the apertures 1s recelved 1n the sald channeled member and is caused to move to the extremities of the guide shoe due to the sliding contact of the guide shoe with the channeled member.

3. In a windmill gearing and lubricating system, an intermeshing gear and pinion having helical teeth, the gear being partially immersed in lubricating oil whereby the rotation of the gear causes the oil to be picked up in the pockets between the gear teeth and to be carried around on the gear to the point where it meshes with the pinion, the oil being forced out to one side from between the meshing teeth, a pit-man pivoted eccentrically to said gear, a guide shoe secured to said pitman, and a channeled guideway for receiving said guide shoe in a slidable relat-ion, said guide shoe being positioned in the path of the streams of oil which are forced from between the intermeshing gear teeth.

4. In a windmill gearing and lubricating system, a casing which is adapted to receive lubricating oil in its lower portion, a wheel shaft entering said casing through an aperture which is positioned above the level of the oil in the casing, a bearing for the wheel shaft, said bearing being inside the casing and being spaced from the aperture through which the wheel shaft passes, and a washer surrounding said wheel shaft, said washer being substantially integral with the Wheel shaft and being spaced from both the bearing and the wall of the casing, whereby oil which reachesthe inner wall ofthe washer is thrown off centrifugally duringthe rotation of the washer and is thus prevented from reaching the aperture through which the wheel shaft enters the casing.

5.- Lubricating means for a windmill drive mechanism, consisting. of a casing adapted to contain a bath of oil, a wind wheel shaft projecting into the casing, a crank member mounted in the casing, oil ejecting gears between the wind wheel shaft and the crank member, one of said gears disposed to dip in said oil bath, a reciprocating pump rod mechanism rising above the crank member and connected thereto for actuation by the crank member, and a reciprocating oil feeding device connected. to said pump rod mechanism and movable across the path of the oil ejected from said gears to intercept a portion of the oil and lubricate said recipro-- cating pump rod mechanism.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CLARENCE G. HENNEY. 

